Aura's Chosen -Continuation-
by PikaPalAllDaway
Summary: Yet another continuation of a story made by me! This one is a continuation of Aura's Chosen by MyLifeMyRules (awesome username btw). I'm probably not as good of a writer as him/her but he/she hasn't uploaded and I wanted to see the story being continued so I tried myself. Rated M cuz I dunno what the plot I have in mind can lead to. THANKS TO idotpart1 FOR BETA-ING CHAPTERS!:)))))
1. Cynthia Shirona

Chapter 4: Cynthia Shirona

"Cynthia?"

Cynthia froze. She stared into those gorgeous dark, blue eyes as a million questions raced through her head.

Ash turned around slowly and waited patiently for the shock to blow over. He couldn't believe it at first either.

"Ash?" she asked quietly, unable to say anything more.

He nodded as her Lucario came in, aura sphere at the ready. Glancing around, its crimson eyes rested on Ash before widening. It had only seen Ash's face change, not his eyes or his body. Now he looked like a true Aura Guardian. Approving, it nodded its head and pulled his trainer away giving Ash some space.

Cynthia sat on the bed; shell shocked at the boy, no man that she saw in the bathroom. His spiked hair lay flat on his head except for a few strands that covered some of his left eye. The blue streaks were the first thing she noticed when she walked in, they were smoothly blended into his original raven black hair which appeared to be darker than usual. The hair definitely enhanced the blue in his eyes, his deep blue eyes that seemed to stare into her soul. His cheekbones were higher and the z's on his cheeks disappeared. Then there was his body. Oh dear god. She could see that the change had toned every bit of him. His biceps were just the right size and you can definitely see the slowly forming six pack abs through his tight shirt. She noticed that he had grown significantly taller as well, almost a head taller than her.

"Perfect height to kiss him," She thought wistfully. She widened her eyes at the sentence that ran through her mind and shook her head once or twice for good measure. "I can't be thinking about him like that, not when he is going to be my apprentice." Slapping her cheeks to clear her head, she waited quietly. She heard the tap go on for a few seconds then stop. Her video phone finally rang breaking the silence. She guessed it was Riley checking in.

She answered the call and sure enough the aura user's face appeared. "Hey," she rasped weakly.

"I take it he woke up?" he replied amused at Cynthia's expression.

"Yeah." She answered still numb.

"Is he fine?"

"Yeah."

"Does his aura seem stable?"

"Yeah."

"Do you want to tie him to the bed and have your wicked way with him?"

"Yea- wait what! No!" She yelled at him cheeks beet red, shocked out of numbness.

Riley cracked up at the other end of the line. "I bet you do!"

"Shut up Riley!" she whispered harshly, afraid that Ash could have heard him.

Shaking with laughter Riley managed to wheeze out a question "Is he there?"

"Yeah, he's in the bathroom." Cynthia said still blushing. "Do you want me to get him?"

"All right, I imagine that he is panicking?'

"No, he seems pretty calm about it"

"That's good; can you get him for me?" Cynthia nodded once at Riley before getting up from the phone.

"Ash?" When she got to the bathroom, she gasped. Ash was breathing heavily and was holding the marble sink so much that he was making an imprint on the marble, molding it to his hand shape.

"Ash, are you okay?" she asked quietly. He didn't turn around, but she could hear his breathing get heavier and more ragged as he struggled to inhale on a steady count. He gave out cry of pain as he clutched his head and sank to the floor. Cynthia's eyes widened and she pulled him out of the tiny space. Ash got the message and stood up shakily, stumbling his way over to Lucario by the bed, who steadied him and laced its paw with his hand. Ash held it up and let the excess aura flow to Lucario.

Cynthia sighed in relief as his breathing turned regular and the light around him faded.

"Ash, Riley wants to talk to you."

"I know, I heard him say that he wanted to see me." Ash replied after a moment with a cold, hard voice. Cynthia's eyes widened. The Ash she knew wouldn't have spoken like that.

He turned to the video phone and watched as Riley's eyes widened.

"You sure have changed," he stated a little shocked at the now mature looking Ash.

"I know."

Cynthia decided to put in her own two cents. "What the hell was that? What in the four regions happened to you Ash?"

"Aura," both boys answered.

"What is it? Why did it happen to Ash only?" Cynthia knew a little bit about Aura due to her Lucario but was not as educated in it as the other two.

"Cynthia, it's going to be a lone explanation, sit down." Cynthia complied and looked to Riley and Ash for answers.

Ash started it off, "Aura is the living force of all things, you have it, I have it and everything else that exists has it. But few people have the ability to harness the aura and manipulate it. Such as Riley, Sir Aaron and now, me."

"You can harness it?" Cynthia asked eyes wide.

"He can now, that is." Riley informed her. "Ash is a little bit special, Ash is Arceus's chosen one, which would explain all the legendaries he has met during his travels. That would make his powers a little more amplified."

"Riley…" Ash growled not wanting to discuss the subject.

"All right, all right. So picky." Riley muttered.

"Now back to the subject," Ash commanded sternly glaring at Riley who froze at the intensity of his dark blue eyes.

"Aura is essentially living, it chooses who it wants to give its gifts to. At least that's what Sir Aaron told me."

"Sir Aaron?" Cynthia inquired. Riley but in explaining.

"He was one of the most powerful Aura Guardians of all time. Sir Aaron sacrificed himself to safe both of the kingdoms at war. He resides dead at the tree of beginning."

Ash snorted at that. "He isn't dead." Everyone looked at him. "He's preserved in that godforsaken tree aching to come out. Think of him as its play toy." He mused.

Then, a violent but brief flash of light suddenly surrounded him as if reminding him about something. He let out a gasp of pain and clutched his head once more as the pounding returned. Lucario made an attempt to go help him but Ash waved the jackal Pokémon away.

"Ash! Are you okay!" Cynthia shouted as she went to go help him again. She forced him up from the crouched position he had and sat him on the bed. Garchomp let out a small whine, nudging him back to lie down.

"No, I'm fine." Ash wheezed out. "My Aura is just reminding me to get a mentor." He stood up suddenly and a smile took over his handsome face. "And I know who to go to. Riley explain everything to Cynthia. I'll be back tonight or tomorrow."

"Tomorrow!" Cynthia Shrieked. "I don't want anything to happen to you! You mister are staying right here where I can see you and make sure you are not going to kill yourself!" She yelled clearly worried about him.

"Relax Cynth I will have my mentor with me. You got nothing to worry about." Ash replied calmly gathering his things. Unbeknownst to him, Cynthia was blushing heavily at her new nickname.

"I still refuse!"

"Well it's a good thing I'm not going to listen." He gave a lopsided smile to her.

"Oh god, he's looked so damn sexy when he did that!" She thought. Snapping out of it she grabbed his arm before he opened the door. "You are not going anywhere with those clothes." She stated laughing at his attire.

"Oh yeah." He mumbled dejected, as if someone took his candy away right as he was about to eat it.

Cynthia grabbed her wallet and recalled her Pokémon before kissing Ash on the cheek. "I'm going to get a new outfit but until then, you stay here." She let out her Milotic to guard the door and left.

Only when she closed the door, she had realized what she had done. "Oh my god." She muttered while blushing. She touched her lips "His skin was so cool and soft." Shaking her head to get rid of those thoughts she went down to the strip mall in trainer's village to accomplish her goal.

Ash froze as her soft lips gently kissed his cheek. He immediately glanced at the video phone with Riley's face holding a wide grin. He was bright red obviously because of holding his laughter in. Ash glared at him just as the door closed. A Milotic stood by it, daring him to come closer to open the door.

"Ash, you are one lucky guy." Riley said between fits of laughter.

"Shut it!" Ash exclaimed with a mild blush which only made Riley laugh harder.

"All right, Lucario has been waiting for me to get off the phone."

"Good bye!" Ash stated before hanging up on him. Shaking the thoughts out of his head he went to the bed with his partner still sleeping on the bed.

He checked his watch and his eyes widened when it read 8 a.m. He was up really early talking to everyone. Making his way around the bed to his faithful Pikachu, he sighed. He didn't know how Pikachu was going to take his change or his mother's death. A wave of sadness washed over him. His mother was dead. Breathing heavily, Ash got on one knee to be in level with his Pokémon's sleeping face.

"Pikachu, wake up buddy." He said softly, nudging him before the onslaught of tears escaped.

"Pika…" The small electric rodent groaned. Pikachu must have remembered what his master was going through because it was up and alert looking around for his best friend. When its eyes caught sight of the mysterious man standing by the bed, it growled, with its cheeks sparking dangerously. Pikachu inhaled once to determine the stranger's scent. The little mouse stumbled back with its eyes wide.

"Pikapi."

"Hey Pikachu." Ash said while smiling. The rodent cried tears of happiness and launched itself at its trainer. They cried together enjoying the feeling of being united once more.

Ash sat down and put Pikachu on his lap. He stroked it while saying, "I know you're wondering what happened right Pi?" The little Pokémon nodded once enjoying the feeling of being rubbed on his tail. "Mom died. Pi. Mom's gone." With that sentence, the trainer started sobbing while Pikachu looked up shocked at the revelation before crying as well.

Ash started to explain everything to his faithful partner. Starting from the morning of his and Paul's battle.

Cynthia was just about to finish purchasing Ash's new outfit when she heard her name get called out.

She turned around only to see Paul with his usual stoic expression. Although now he seemed to be a bit worried.

"Cynthia, where's Ketchum?" He said a frown etching onto his face. "He's gone missing and you certainly look worried. Also, coming out of a men's store doesn't help your case either,"

"My shopping is none of your business, I just happen to be shopping for a friend,"

"Who? Lance? Wallace?"

Cynthia rolled her eyes and replied, "Again, Paul," she sneered his name. "My life is none of your business,"

"Dawn and Brock are worried sick, an-"

"Why would you care? If you didn't care about your Pokémon, why would you care about a non-relative that's missing?"

Paul pursed his lips, "I want my battle, and you and I both know that he didn't try. That was unfair to me."

"Not everything matters about you Paul. Did you know his mom was killed by mysterious people the morning of yours and Ash's battle?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh yeah, you didn't know. While you were out there abusing your Pokémon, Ash was getting informed by Professor Oak that his mom was murdered!" Somewhere along the conversation, Cynthia had started yelling. Looking at Paul now, she noticed his wide eyes. He backed off slightly at her furious face. "You may have the win, but Ash is a much better trainer that you will ever dream to be." With that, Cynthia called her Garchomp and flew back to her champion suite.

Landing on her balcony, Cynthia recalled Garchomp, giving him a word of thanks, and unlocked the screen door. She found Ash sleeping, still stroking Pikachu subconsciously. She smiled and gave him a soft kiss on his forehead and shook him lightly. He shifted and remained asleep. Cynthia refrained from trying to wake him up again, seeing he had a highly emotional two days. She walked into her master bedroom and softly closed the door behind her. She laid his outfit down on her bed and admired her handiwork. She had bought him a slightly dressy black sleeveless vest with a navy blue shirt underneath, black jeans and a black and blue fedora. She thought it would work with his gorgeous blue eyes and raven black hair.

She heard the door open behind her and a few footsteps.

"Is that my outfit?" A still slightly cold voice said. Cynthia swiveled around to see the sixteen year old yawning behind her. "Not bad. Cynthia, I would like to apologize for being a bit cold when we spoke before, I'm still dealing with accepting my mom's uh-"

"It's okay, well go on! Try them on! I want to see them on you!" Cynthia stated pushing him toward the master bath after shoving the clothes in his arms. After she had shooed him off, she heard her door being knocked.

"Hi Cynthia, "A red eyed Dawn weakly greeted. Brock had tear stains going down his cheeks and didn't even try to flirt with her!

"Did Ash come here, "she asked, her voice raspy. Then she spotted Pikachu on the armchair snoring softly. "He is here!"

"Sorry Dawn, that's my friend…um…Shadow's Pikachu!"

"Shadow huh? May we see him?" By this point, Dawn's tone had turned into an annoyed argumentative tone.

"Yes, you may, "A deep voice answered behind Cynthia answered. She pursed her lips and opened the door wider to reveal a man.

Dawn's eyes widened. There stood a man much taller than Cynthia, which was not an easy feat considering Cynthia was incredibly tall, with striking blue eyes. He had a muscular body and a jaw-dropping face. Before she could say anything, she felt the heat rising to her cheeks as she stared at his now cocked eyebrow.

Brock stepped back at the highly intimidating man and looked at Dawn's flustered face. He smirked slightly at her awestruck expression before remembering why he was here. "Paul just told us to check in with you because you were acting suspicious. I'm sorry if we intruded." He bowed slightly in apology and dragged a love struck Dawn down the hallway.

"That was a close one." Cynthia sighed closing the door, "But why did you lie to your friends?"

"I can't have them worrying while I'm training, it would only get in my way and theirs. They need to continue with their careers, I will only slow them down by making them wait for me for many years." He replied looking at himself using the mirror in the bedroom. "I like it Cynth."

"Thanks" she said beaming, her cheeks turning slight red at the nickname "How long will your training take?"

"I don't know, depends how fast I learn," he replied waking up Pikachu. "Hey Pi, were going to get an old friend. Remember Riolu?"

"Pi Pika!" The mouse cried joyously while jumping onto the teen's shoulder.

"Great to see you remember him, he's going to be with us for a while."

"Ash, I've been meaning to ask you something, but with all this aura business, I haven't got the chance. But here's the thing, will you be my apprentice?"

Ash's eyes widened considerably. "Your apprentice?"

"I know you have great potential, I want to bring it up front. You have been traveling and helping your friends too much that it had lessened your own training. I admire your courtesy but that's got to end. If you accept, your Pokémon are going to be rigorously training alongside mine to become stronger. If you accept, that is."

The words died in Ash's throat, after a while he managed to say a breathless yes. A chorus of yes's followed getting louder by each word. Soon he was smiling and hugging Pikachu, "Pi, you know what this means, we're getting trained by one of the world's best trainers!"

"Pikapi!" Pikachu squealed rubbing his cheek with Ash's.

Cynthia smiled at the heart warming scene and spoke up again, "You'd better go get that Riolu before you aura makes an appearance again."

Ash gave her a firm nod and spun a Pokéball on his finger, "Ready to say hi to an old friend Pi?" Pikachu recognized the Pokéball and let out a whoop of joy.

Ash walked onto the balcony and leaned on the railings for a breath of fresh air. Straightening up, he tossed a Pokéball with a flick of the wrist. With a deafening roar, a massive orange lizard appeared.

"Hey Charizard, give us a lift?" he said coolly.

Charizard grunted, and was about to turn around and give the customary flamethrower greeting to the face, when it had realized something. Ash wasn't Ash anymore. He had changed. Checking the sudden appearance change to make sure it was it's trainer, it turned back around and gave a curt nod and signaled for him to get on.

"Thanks bud," He replied patting the lizard's head. Stretching his arm out, he sent a pulse of aura out and pinpointed Riolu's position. "Head northeast Charizard." He finished his voice still cold and hatred at the ones who killed his mother still looming in his mind.

Paul was bits shaken up, he's never seen or heard about Cynthia lose her demeanor before. With her calm manner, he thought it was impossible.

Snapping out of his thoughts, he waited in the hotel lobby, checking the elevator doors once in a while to see if Brock and Dawn were returning from their trip to Cynthia's champion suite. Ash had to be there, although Ketchum didn't seem like the one to go to champions for encouragement. Sure he had lost his mother, but he had time with her. Unlike Ketchum, Paul barely knew his parents. They died before he was even three.

Soon enough, the elevator opened revealing brock supporting a dizzy looking dawn.

"Well?" Paul questioned looking expectantly at them.

"Ash wasn't there, although there was a man, "Brock had replied. "Dawn's got all flustered just at looking at him and hearing his voice," hearing this, Paul felt a stab of jealousy, but pushed it away. He didn't have time for love, especially not with troublesome. Paul nodded at the response and turned to leave.

Outside of the building, he couldn't help but notice the man leaning on the railings of a champion suite's balcony. Cynthia's to be exact. He was too high up to notice any features properly, although he did have dark hair. He released a powerful looking Charizard before taking off.

"Must be the guy Brock was talking about," he though walking away.

"What game are you playing at Ketchum?" he voiced.

Cynthia sighed at the retreating figure of Charizard.

"Hopefully he returns to normal, it wouldn't be the same without that optimistic fire." She thought retreating back into her Champion suite to succumb to the horrors of paperwork.

"Ash, where are you," Dawn and Brock thought as they roamed the roads of Trainer's village once again to find some clue about the trainer's whereabouts.


	2. Chapter 2

Ash sighed as the cool breeze ruffled his hair, he had forgotten what it felt like to ride on Charizard. Pikachu pumped his fists in the air as they overtook a flock of pidove and tranquil that were ahead of them. Ash smiled at his best friend's antics and sent out a wide pulse of aura, which was relatively easy, considering how much he was letting off already. He received one back somewhere northeast, about 100 miles away. He projected the location out to Charizard who roared, and snorted some smoke out of his nostrils, indicating that he received the thought. The fire lizard pumped his wings faster and shot off, trying to reach his destination before sunset.

Soon enough, they saw a small village through the clouds. Ash closed his eyes and felt the overwhelming presence of trained auras. His own energy flared again, desperate for its own partner in training. He could feel impatience stirring within him as they glided slowly, down to the modest "kingdom" of riolu and lucario. He jumped off of Charizard the second they touched land, and returned him, mumbling a quick thanks. He raced toward the gates, when two lucario blocked him, forming aura spheres in their hands. Ash staggered back, narrowly missing them both. Pikachu sparked angrily, waiting for its trainer's command to unleash its fury on the lucario duo.

"No Pikachu!" Ash cried, knowing that they were just protecting their home. "It's okay," he spoke again, calming the still annoyed Pikachu. Said pokemon sniffed and sparked, cancelling its attack, but giving a clear warning to the aura pokemon. The lucario growled, until they noticed Ash concentrating, forming a small blue ball of energy in the palm of his hand. It was about the size of a golf ball, but that was all the confirmation they needed to know that he was not a threat. They nodded at him and allowed the pair to enter the kingdom.

Ash smiled at the pokemon and stepped through the gates, instantly his aura acted up again, causing him to break into a sprint, desperate to find his aura partner. He didn't know where he was running or how he was dodging pokemon and people alike at the speed he was going, but he knew that when he stopped, he would be reunited with his friend.

After a minute more of sprinting, he stopped, his aura was fluctuating wildly at this point. A lucario was meditating under a large oak tree, its aura pulsing as well, knowing that Ash was coming to find him. Pikachu finally caught up to Ash, but stayed back, knowing that this was a private bonding. The raven haired teen started forward, he had lost all of his energy during his sprint, his aura burning up every last bit. He managed a few steps, and stopped a few feet away from the lucario. The aura pokemon opened its crimson eyes and looked Ash over. It got up and offered Ash its paw, face up. Ash placed his hand on top and relaxed as his aura lost its volatile state, and washed over him in calm waves.

"Thank you," was all he managed before he fell unconscious into the lucario's arms.

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Cynthia hummed, brushing her milotic's fur as she thought about ways to train her new apprentice. _He has to evolve more of his pokemon and bolster their strength.. With those out of the box strategies and quick thinking, they also need to boost their reaction times, and maybe train their defense as well, since he will take time to come up with those strategies._ She was broken from her thoughts when the video-phone rang. Accepting the call, she reconstructed her poker face and waited for the caller's face to appear. When she saw it was Riley, she instantly went to put the phone down, fed up with his teasing.

"Wait! This is important!" Riley shouted at her, waving his hands about.

"What do you want, Gen?" Cynthia growled, ready to get her jet, fly to Iron Island, and beat the crap out of him.

"Did Ash leave?"

"Yeah, he said something about finding his partner. He seems to know where to go, apparently he already knows a riolu that shared his aura. They bonded while he was rescuing the riolu from Hunter J,"

"That's great! It'll be much easier for him to train his aura now! Did you ask him if he wanted to be your protege?"

"Yeah, he accepted."

"Well, now you have a student...that you're going to train...one-on-one...are you sure that training is _all_ you're going to do? Maybe it's time for me to get an "apprentice" as well…" Riley snickered, already picturing erotic fantasies with him and some cute girls.

"I don't even know why I'm friends with you," Cynthia sighed, accepting that Riley will never change.

"Possibly because of my handsome looks and charming personality," Riley spoke, flipping his hair out of his eyes.

"Why did you call Riley?"

"I need to know that Ash's aura isn't too stressful on his body. It's a couple years too early for him to be breaking that dam of power, and I don't know how taxing it would be on his underdeveloped body. It's important that he doesn't stress himself and use too much aura, he could die if he isn't careful," Riley spoke seriously.

"I can't reach him through his pokenav, he's probably still flying on his charizard," Cynthia replied, fiddling around with a watch on her left wrist.

"When he does make contact with you, warn him and tell me how he is, I wouldn't want him to leave us so early," Riley spoke with a sad smile.

Cynthia nodded seriously and ended the video call. She returned her milotic and laid down on her bed. Her lucario walked into the room from the balcony, and showed her approximately how far away Ash was with his aura. Cynthia sighed as she withdrew from her pokemon's vision, _Stay safe Ash._

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Ash blinked, willing his eyes to refocus and stay open as he slowly sat up. "Where am I?" Pikachu's ears perked when it heard its master's voice, "Pikapi!"

"Hey Pikachu, where are we?" Ash asked his partner.

Before Pikachu could answer, an old man and a lucario walked into the room. The lucario immediately rushed to his side, and forced him to lay down again. The pokemon pressed its paws to his chest, and let out calm waves of aura that made him drowsy again. He yawned, brought Pikachu to his chest, turned his head to the old man, and asked again, "Where am I?"

"You're in our home. You've been passed out for a couple of hours, Ash. It's sunset now, you should get more rest. We can talk in the morning." The old man smiled at Ash and flipped the light switch off. Ash felt himself fall asleep seconds after.

The next time he woke up, sunlight was streaming through the window and Pikachu was gone. He found a towel with some soap, toothpaste, and a toothbrush stacked on top. He laid out his clothes on top of the bed and walked into the attached bathroom to freshen up. Ash felt his sore muscles loosen in the warm water streaming down his figure. Once he got out, he studied himself in the mirror. Ash noted that he'd lost a fair amount of fat, making his already existing muscles show prominently. His chest and shoulders had become wider, and his abs showed a faint trace of a six pack. He shook out the water from his long hair and huffed when it fell into his eyes, "I really need to get a haircut,"

When he walked out, the clothes that he laid on the bed were already washed and ironed. He put on the outfit picked by Cynthia, and left his hat on the nightstand. When he walked into the living room, he was greeted by a riolu, who looked at him suspiciously. "Hey, do you know where Lucario and his caretaker are?" He asked the emanation pokemon. It nodded once and motioned for him to follow, taking him out of his large room and into a hallway. He noted the architecture, and deduced that he was probably in the castle. The riolu constantly checked over its shoulder to see if Ash was still there, its accusatory stare making him flinch every time its red eyes bore into his. Riolu barked,and jerked its head at a pair of big stone doors. Ash pushed them open and was greeted to the sight of a large courtyard filled with riolu and lucario alike. Some were practicing their powers, other were wrestling and having battles. His eyes were drawn to the largest lucario standing in the back, overseeing everything. He walked over to it and the old man standing beside it.

"Hey Lucario," Ash spoke, still feeling a little tired. Lucario nodded at him and forced him to sit down. The old man laughed, "He doesn't want to do anything with your aura for some time. He doesn't want anything to happen to you. Lucario's been worried sick since you arrived."

Lucario growled at its father figure with a blush on its cheeks. Ash smiled at Lucario "Thanks for worrying about me, but you didn't really have to. Say, where's Pikachu?" he asked, looking around. Lucario pointed at a cloud of dust. and sure enough Pikachu bolted out of it, seemingly fighting another riolu.

Lucario started to meditate, and Ash followed suit, not really knowing what to do. The old man sat down as well and guided Ash along. "Relax, let your senses flow over you. You don't need eyes to see what is going on around you. Breathe deeply and let your other senses construct the world around you," The caretaker spoke gently, his voice soothing to Ash's ears. He did as the elder said, and listened to what was going around him. A lucario launching an aura sphere, and another yelling out in pain. A villager shouting about how a riolu stole his pecha berries. The starly flying overhead. He could smell the rain that fell during the night, and the flowers of a nearby tree. Ash sighed, feeling completely at home with the sensations around him.

He sat there for a while, not really knowing how much time had passed, but he didn't care. A hand grasped his shoulder, jarring him out of his thoughts and his eyes snapped open. Lucario was smiling at him, fangs poking out of his mouth. It barked and pointed at the sun. It was well past midday. Ash's eyes widened, "Wow, I've been here for a while." Lucario nodded, and grasped Ash by his arm. The Jackal led him to the village, and showed him around the market.

Ash toured around the village, introducing himself to the villagers. He had tons of fun playing with the native pokemon and eating all of the different foods made in the market. Pikachu had joined in the middle of his tour of the kingdom, and shocked Ash for leaving him behind. After a whole ketchup bottle apology later, Pikachu finally settled down and enjoyed the tour with Ash.

It turned dark (way too fast in Ash's opinion) and Lucario led him to a pond with a few blooming water lilies. The sunset looked beautiful, and Ash finally felt stress free and relaxed. He sat down by the shore of the pond and hugged his knees, "Hey Lucario, you know why I'm here right?"

Lucario nodded and offered its paw, and unsure of what to do, Ash took it. A sudden rush of aura overwhelmed him, and forcing him to pulse his own back. Suddenly, something in him clicked, like a puzzle piece. He could feel Lucario's emotions, fears, strengths and see his memories. It was as if they'd known each other for years. He snapped his eyes to Lucario, and the pokemon smiled at him.

" _Hello Ash."_

 **A/N Please review & tell us (PikaPal & Beta) what to improve on! See you in the next chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

Dawn didn't know what to feel at the moment. It had been almost three days since Ash went missing and she didn't know whether to cry or get angry. How was she going to break the news to Mrs. Ketchum? Oh lord, that poor woman probably was going to have a heart attack. Anxiety and guilt gripped her heart as she went into the Pokecenter with Brock. Nurse Joy looked up at them and slowly shook her head, while glancing at a tray of pokeballs sitting on her desk.

Brock exhaled and hung his head, "Still hasn't shown up huh?"

"I'm sure that he'll come. As you said, Ash isn't the type to abandon his pokemon," Joy reassured the two.

Dawn could feel herself tearing up again, her puffy red eyes stinging from the new wave of tears. "I should have never fought with him! Brock, what if he got hurt because of me!? What if it was all my fault!?" She sobbed, her hands tightly gripping her skirt.

Brock immediately went to comfort her, "It's not your fault Dawn, Ash was acting really weird anyway. Maybe he just left to blow off some steam from losing? I'm sure he's fine."

"We should call Mrs. Ketchum just in case, I don't think she knows yet," she sniffled.

"Alright, I'll talk to her. You get some rest, we've been searching all night and I know you're exhausted."

"No, I want to be there. It's my fault for pushing him away."

Brock nodded as he dialed the familiar number to the Ketchum residence. It rang a few times before going to the answering machine. Huh, odd. He tried again and got the same monotone voice asking him to leave a message after the tone.

"She's not picking up?" Dawn asked confused.

"She's probably at Professor Oak's. I'll give him a call to see if she's there," Brock replied while dialing another number. This time someone did pick up.

"Oh, hello Brock. When are you coming? I'm sure Ash would have liked to get here as fast as possible...where is he anyway?"

"Umm...about that," Dawn started, but was cut off by Brock. "Professor Oak, why are you in a suit?"

"Why wouldn't I be? Today's the funeral."

"FUNERAL!? But Ash only went missing two days ago and we haven't told anyone!" Brock and Dawn yelled into the receiver.

"MISSING!? What are you guys talking about?" Oak shouted back.

"Ash ran away from us after we got in a fight two days ago. He was acting really weird after his loss with Paul and we tried to get him to tell us why. But he snapped at us and ran away. He hasn't come back yet and his pokemon are still at the pokecenter. We decided to call Mrs. Ketchum to let her know but she isn't picking up," Dawn spoke softly.

Oak's face suddenly looked really tired. "Delia Ketchum died in a fire started by a mysterious group of people two days ago. Today is the funeral."

Brock and Dawn were shell shocked as they stared at the screen. Mrs. Ketchum...was dead? Dawn couldn't take it anymore and fled out the pokecenter doors, her eyes glistening with tears.

"This is horrible, first Delia has passed away and now Ash is missing?" Oak moaned.

"Oh god...please pay our respects in our stead. We still have to find Ash and bring him home."

"Have you filed a missing person's report?"

"We were going to do that after letting his mother know, but…"

"Yes, do it now. The funeral will go on and I'll put flowers on her grave for you, but find Ash. He gets in all sorts of trouble and I wouldn't want anything to happen to him."

Brock nodded seriously and ended the video call. He waved goodbye to Nurse Joy before trying to find an Officer Jenny patrolling the grounds. Dawn wasn't anywhere near the center so he figured that she had to be in their room.

A few minutes later, he found the teal haired police officer, resisting the overpowering urge to profess his undying love to her.

"Officer Jenny! Officer Jenny!" He called out while running to her.

"Hmm...what is it?" She asked turning around. Her arcanine paused and sat obediently, waiting for its master to continue walking.

"My friend went missing a few days ago. I came to file a missing person's report."

"All right! Let's head on back to the station, Arcanine. We'll let the other Jennys take care of the rest of patrol." Arcanine barked and stood up.

"Did your friend get involved in some shady business?"

"No! Ash isn't like that. We fight off Team Rocket all the time."

"Really? Isn't it dangerous to go against such a large criminal organization?"

Brock smiled fondly, reminiscing as he replied, "Ash always comes out on top. No matter what, his luck comes through for him."

"But don't go looking for trouble...there are some things in the world that you can't be ready for."

Brock nodded seriously at the officer's words as they walked through the station doors.

"All right. What's your friend's name, age, occupation if he has one, any relative, where he was last seen, contact number, describe his personality normally and if anything was weird days prior to disappearance. Did he have any trouble with the law during any point of time in his life?"

"Ashura Satoshi Ketchum. He's 16 and is a pokemon trainer. He...has no relatives to take care of him though, his mother died two days ago," Brock started.

"Really? Interesting…"

"He was with me and Dawn, another friend of ours, when we got into a fight and he ran away."

"What was the fight about?"

"He was pushing us away and being really moody. When we asked him, he said it was none of our business and ran away. Now we know that it was his mother that caused the mood change."

"I see, I see...do you have a number that we can reach you with or someone responsible for him? Write it down here," Jenny said passing a clipboard with blocks of information filled out and a pen and motioned to where he should write Professor Oak's number.

"We'll see what we can do Brock, but if he's out of the region, there's nothing we can do. We'd have to transfer the case and that would be extremely difficult. Let's hope that he shows up soon, but until then we'll send out a few alerts and broadcast it."

Brock nodded, thankful for her services. "Thank you Officer Jenny, We'll let you know if something else pops up."

"Alright Brock, take care," Jenny grinned while saluting.

Brock sighed and walked away, now to find Dawn.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

" _Hello Ash._ "

Ash took a step back. Then two more steps. Then he tripped and fell to the ground, he had no idea where the voice in his head was coming from. It was somewhat familiar, but voices in his head had always spelled out trouble before. Pikachu seemed to have already figured it out, judging by the fact that he was laughing at Ash's misfortune.

Lucario stepped forward, and extended his hand to Ash, " _Here, let me help you._ "

Ash didn't respond for a few seconds, but eventually went wide-eyed, "Wait, Lucario, are you the voice in my head?"

Lucario nodded, and Pikachu continued to laugh, only pausing to say something that Ash figured was extremely snide.

Ash gripped Lucario's paw, and hoisted himself upright, "Hey Lucario, what just happened? And how can I perfectly understand you? I can't even understand Pikachu that well, and I've known him for 6 years!"

As Pikachu took his customary spot on Ash's shoulder, Lucario responded, " _We created an aura bond, it allows the parties involved to feel each other's emotions, some memories and well being. It forces us to show what we truly feel or think, so a closer bond is formed. And as for understanding me, we are currently communicating with Aura, which can create a telepathic network between two beings. I am extending this network to Pikachu, but eventually you will be able to extend the network to all of your pokemon."_

As Pikachu squeaked out a reply, Ash's mind was running at a mile a minute. Why did his aura suddenly calm down? When will he be able create a network? Will he be able to speak with the rest of his pokemon? Eventually, he calmed down enough to make conversation.

"So, seeing as we are now Aura partners, do you mind if I catch you? You can stay outside of the pokeball if you like, but it's mostly an anti-theft mechanism."

" _It would be my honor. And I would like to stay outside, please._ "

Ash took an empty pokeball from his belt, noting that he had forgot to get his pokemon from the Pokecenter, and tossed it at Lucario. Not even 3 wobbles later it chimed, signaling that Lucario had been caught.

Lucario immediately emerged, and bowed to Ash. Ash raised an eyebrow, while Pikachu titled his head.

" _I am honored to serve as your Pokemon and your Aura guide, master._ "

Pikachu, for the second time, fell to the ground laughing. Ash, on the other hand, looked extremely uncomfortable.

"Please Lucario, don't call me master. We are friends."

" _Certainly, master._ "

"Please stop."

" _Never_."

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

While training her pokemon, Cynthia realised that Ash still hasn't picked up his pokeballs. She cursed under her breath. How would she get past Nurse Joy and Professor Oak? Recalling all of her pokemon, she made her way over to the pokemon center.

"Hello Nurse Joy, I'm here for trainer Ash Ketchum's pokemon. He has been missing for over 24 hours and his pokemon must be turned over to the league and be taken care of. Once he is found, we shall determine whether he is stable enough and return his companions to him." Cynthia confidently spoke, authority shining through her words.

Nurse Joy looked at her skeptically but turned the tray of pokeballs over. "Of course, will the pokemon be okay? And Pikachu is missing as well…"

"Pikachu is still being tracked down and his other pokemon from the ranch are in our custody. The pokemon will be taken care of well and we will try to keep them as happy as possible." Cynthia _almost_ felt bad about lying right through her teeth, but it had to be done.

She placed the pokeballs in a separate tote bag and returned the tray to Nurse Joy. "If he has left any personal possessions, I have to collect those as well."

"He hasn't left any here, I will check with his companions if they have anything."

"Thanks Nurse Joy."

Cynthia held the bag full of pokeballs and made her way back to the hotel room. She packed her things and sent a message to Ash's pokedex letting him know that she was going to her Unova summerhouse.

The Sinnoh league had ended, so Cynthia had to return to her duties. There were new ruins discovered in Unova so she could keep away from Sinnoh for a while. Even though Ash looked different, he was still identifiable to friends and family and she could tell he doesn't want to face them yet. She was worried about what they were going to do after that though...they would cross that bridge when they get to it.

She called her butler and requested two rooms to be prepared for them as she got into her jeep. She phoned her elite four to let them know she wasn't going to be in the region for a while as she drove to the port. She couldn't wait to train Ash, he was an interesting trainer and his pokemon were strong. With his new powers, who knew what he could do and how his battling style could change. An interesting protege indeed.


End file.
